Martilius the Great
Martilius the Great (Born December 16, 465 P.F., reigned 443 P.F. to 412 P.F. as king and until P.F. as emperor), also known as Martlius the Younger or Martilius of Vizantia, was the last king of the Vizantian Kingdom and the founder of the Vizantian Empire. It was under his rule that the empire embraced almost all the western Coruna and other outlying areas. Under his patronage and leadership, the empire blossomed in terms of culture, architecture, politics and military organization. Throughout ages and centuries, many monarchs and leaders often looked back to his days and glories and tried to emulate his achievements and success. But only few succeeded and many often fell short in their achievement to Martilius. Such was the greatness of the first emperor of the great empire of Vizantia. Rise to Power Early Life Little is known of his early years, as there are only a few sources known to details that part of his life, and they have been damaged or lost. He was born December 16, 465 P.F., probably in the city of Vizantia. His great-granduncle was the Vizantian king Martilius The Elder, making him of royal blood. His father was either called Gerhan while his mother's name is unknown, but possibly of humble origin. There is no mention of any other children of his parents. His father was described by the vizantian chronicler, Tane Arin, as a general of the king's army and a favorite in the court. His mother was told to be a daughter of a humble servant in his home who became h is mistress. This illegitimacy prevented him in the succession of the throne and made him ambitious in his status. He was cared by his father. Like every Vizantian noble youth, he was trained in the art of warfare, equestrian,and statesmanship at an early age. Arin recounted that Martilius was the best amongst his peers in every circumstances and was immediately acknowledged leader of the entire class. Unlike other nobles though, he was not alien to hard work and often help the family's servant in tending their estates. Road to Accession His skills, abilities and appearance earned him a favorable position at the court of Vizantia as a courtier. He was noticed by the queen herself, Aithra, and took him as her lover. This positioned him to be close to the king, Hourif The Younger and the king made him commander of the king's guard. The liaison between him and the queen continued without notice to the king while the king became enamored with the youth. At that time, it was known that the king was effeminate and often took young male servants and courtiers as l over. The unknown entanglement of the youth and the queen even bore a child, whom the queen presented as the king's son, Osgarius. The king immediately named him the crown prince. Now with the confidence of both monarchs and storng connections both in court and army, he effectively became the commander-in-chief of the Vizantian Army and a voice in the court politics and affairs. In 445 P.F., the aging Hourif married Martilius to his eldest stepdaughter, Nurmina, and named him co-regent with his queen to the crown prince, who was only a young man. Martilius and the queen remained lovers even after the kings death in 443 P.F.. At this point of the story, there is two versions of how did he became the king. According to traditional story, he strangled the queen while they lay in their bed while his wife killed her brother by smothering him. In his account, written by his historians, he stated that the queen is now bored with him and plans to replace him with another courtier. Upon hearing her plan, he waited until they were alone in their chamber and after she was asleep in their bed, he strangled her. Seeing the dead queen's body, he ordered his wife to smother the king while he ordered the king's guard to secure the palace and prevent anyone from leaving the palace. Power Consolidation Whichever version was actually true, he was proclaimed by the Council of Vizantia, the Vizantian Army, and the citizens of Vizantia the new king of the city in latter part of 443 P.F. He buried the queen and the young king honorably to silence any suspicion to his accession and held a feast on their honor. His reign began by executing every potential rivals to the throne and murdering noblemen whose loyalty was suspected. He rewarded those who sided to him early in his reign and became generous to the army and the citizens of Vizantia. This greatly reduced the treasuries of the kingdom, forcing Martilius to find other sources of revenues, who was known to be an extravagant and being a showman. Then in 444 P.F., his dilemma was solved when he received a plea from one of the cities to the north, asking him to protect it from hostile tribes marauding the northern peninsula. He immediately organized an expedition north, selling every possible items to increase the budget for this. Campaigns Prior to his campaign to the north, Martilius named his queen as regent of the kingdom and appointed supporters at important positions. His campaign was further delayed by his eldest son's birth in 445 P.F. After his son's birth, he now sets his eyes on this campaign. Northern Campaign With an army of 12,000 men, he went north and thrashed the hostile tribes there and spent ma ny years to subjugated them. He then conquered the entire northern peninsula, sets up fortress and garrisons, and incorporated it in the kingdom. Yet the entire campaign was only competed when the entire north submitted to him by 438 P.F. Cornelissian Campaign A new threat came from the south, the Cysselines, inhabitants of the southern boundary of the kingdom. After his victories over the northern territories, the Cysselines, allied to the Tarvars, launched sporadic attacks and raids at the southern provinces. He immediately marched south, defeating a combined force of Cysselines and Tarvars and captured their leaders. Moving at the heart of the enemy's territory, he captured their capital, made it a his fortress at this region and named it after himself, Martilis. Yet it was until in 417 P.F. that final resistance was put out. Upon hearing his conquest over the Cysselines and Tarvars, the entire chiefs of different tribes and nations of the region banded together and attacked him at Martilis. According to vizantian historians, the number of the combined forces was up to 60,000 soldiers, more the triple of the number than the army of Martilius. Martilius marched his exhausted army to meet this threat, leaving a skeleton force to hold Martilis. The two armies met at the plain called Stroler and decisively defeated them at the Battle of Stroler in 432 P.F. After the battle, he massacred every men of each tribes and nations, sold their women and children to slavery, plundered and looted their camp and incorporated the region into his growing empire. This conquest made him master of the entire corneliss region. He returned to his capital with his spoils of war and treasures he captured during both campaigns in 418 P.F. Bashan Peninsula Hearing of what he did to the tribes of the corneliss region, the cities and communities at the Bashan Peninsula joined together against the armies of Martilius, fearing of his ambition might put his eyes on their home. Numbering around 90,000 men, they managed to defeat two armies the commander of Martilis sent against them and even managed to incite rebellion among the inhabitants of Cornellis. Reacting with speed and cunning, Martilius, his veterans and auxiliary army, marched against them. He met them in a valley and divided his army into two and commanded the second division to hide and ambush the enemy at the rear. in Battle of the Valley of Annihilation, the whole coalition was caught in the trap and every enemy was cut down. Martilius took the heads of every chieftains and leaders of the enemy and sent to the south for force them to surrender. Despite the loss, the Bashan cities replied with hostility and mustered another 20,000-strong army. Martilius answered with a quick marched south and in a series of sieges, captured every major cities of the peninsula. In 415 P.F., he captured the last major stronghold of the enemy, thus giving him mastery throughout the entire western Coruna. He made another fortress at the heart of the peninsula and named it Martilius-in-Bashan but familiarly called Merbashan. Emperor .]] In June 24, 412 P.F., Martilius crowned himself into the Emperor of the Vizantian Empire. After his coronation, the cities and communities in Bosteno and Rendava regions sent ambassadors and valuable gifts and tributes to him as sign of submission and to prevent any further wars. He received them and immediately placed garrisons and fortress to those regions. He even invited important provincials and their families to live with him in his capital city Vizantia. Administration As a statesman, Martilius proved to be a imaginative and strong leader. Many of his reforms and administrations today are still used and copied by later rulers and states. Capital Two years prior to his assumption of the imperial title, Martilius ordered his architects and engineers to expand the border of the Vizantia and remodel the palace befitting of his new status. The result was that the city expanded four time its original size and the palace of the kings grew in size and splendor. It became known as the Palace of Sovereign. He instituted new public buildings and new statues to the capital, determined to make the capital grander than before. In June 5, 405 P.F., the new capital was rededicated to the vizantian gods and celebrated with a celebration lasting a hundred days. The city's population tripled just one year after its re dedication. Organisation Even on campaign, Martilius maintain communication wiithin the capital city and his officials. As the empire grew, so does the organization needed to control it. He divided the empire into forty irregular sized provinces, controlled by a governor and had a fixed amount of tributes and taxes owed to the central government. The tributes and taxes was assessed by a commission appointed by Martilius himself. The governors are either a member of the imperial house, an aristocrat of the capital or an important provincial noble. These governors were personally picked by Martilius to monitor these provinces, which were divided into commanderies with their own commandant which were chosen either by the imperial court or by the governor. To ensure that one person did not gain too much power, each governor had a secretary who observed the affairs of the state and communicated with Martilius, a treasurer who safeguarded provincial revenues, and a garrison commander who was responsible for the troops. Martilius chose Aphalasian as a common language, which soon spread throughout the empire. Economy To stabilized the economy of the empire, he took controlled all the mines and minters throughout the land and minted coins with his image on it. After his coronation, Martilius issued a new monetary based in silver coins with a weight averaging to be around 8grams and gold coins averaging to be 5 grams called Marcs. This coin was created to provide a uniformity in coins and monetary system that would be used throughout the empire, removing the need for foreign monetary systems. In an effort to further improve trade, Martilius built canals, underground waterways, and a marketplaces. He further improved and expanded the network of roads and way stations throughout the empire, easing communication and trade further. Religion Although a firm believer of the vizantian mythology, Martilius practiced toleration inside the empire, with the condition of submission, tributes and peaceful existence with his imperial subjects. He even gave them gifts and allowances for their temples and their leaders. He even erected new temples and altars inside the empire. This further the stability of the empire. Culture Although most of his time was occupied in the army and politics, Martilius was an accomplished writer, artist and musician, though all his works and writings was lost forever. Every historians credited him in patronizing arts, sculpture and music inside his court. He was the patron of many great artists, whose general fundings made their works valuable and much-sought after. Death Martilius died in August 10, 400 P.F. while preparing for a campaign against the island of Asinris and the two lower outlying islands. His body was cremated in the pyre during his funeral. His ashes was put in a jar and placed in the Mausoleum of the Emperors. Legacy Politics and Management Martilius founded a multi-racial empire that was divided into many irregular-sized provinces and appointed governors and officials as he saw fitted. He divided and formed these provinces as he saw fits, preventing any ambitious governors from taking too much power at his expenses. Through his army and military expertise, he organized the vizantian army into a sophisticated and well-trained war machine which includes his personal bodyguards, the Guardians of the Ram, consisting of 6,000 highly trained soldiers. His conquest started a massive construction projects, stabilizing the trading market and making a uniform system of measurement as well as monetary system. Even today, many marveled as how did he managed to conquer half the continent and maintained that the empire survived until its declined and fall. Many aspired to achieved such feat in their quest for their ambition as rulers. Many of the current dynasties following the Vizantian empire and their rulers saw themselves as the heirs to Martilius the Great and have claimed to continue the line begun by Martilius. Religion and Culture It was at Martilius's reign that the vizantian culture spread throughout the empire and even outside its border. The rise of vizantia under Martilius's rule had a profound impact on the course of coruna's history. Vizantian philosophy, literature and religion all played dominant roles in world events for the next coming years. By pursuing a policy of generosity instead of repression, and by favoring local religions, he was able to make his newly conquered subjects into enthusiastic supporters of his regime. Family After securing the throne and the birth of the crown prince, he took more wives and concubines to strengthen his alliance to different factions as well as his huge appetite for women. Throughout his reign, he probably fathered more than a hundred sons and daughters with different women. Yet only his queen and two sons, Alugias I, Vizantian Emperor}Alugias I and Amiro I, were named by the historians. Titles and Epithets *Commander of the King's Guard *King of Vizantia *Emperor of Vizantia *The Victor of Stroler *Conqueror of Corneliss *Martilius the Conqueror *Martilius the Ever-Victorious *Martilius the Mighty *The Renowned Emperor *The Father of Holmar Category:Monarchs Category:Emperors of Vizantia Category:Kings of Vizantia Category:Craikan